Various snow trail grooming devices exist in the prior art. Many of the known prior art devices resemble towable sled devices hitched behind a vehicle for towing over a snow trail to groom the same. These devices are designed for use with personal motor craft (e.g., a snowmobile and the like) and industrial type towing vehicles. Of these, only the devices for use with a personal motor craft vehicle are intended for towing behind a snowmobile under operating conditions, i.e., at operating speeds while traveling over a snow trail. These devices can serve their intended purpose rather well, especially when one desires to tow a load of articles behind the vehicle while also performing snow grooming. However, when one does not desire to tow such a device behind their vehicle but still desires to conduct snow trail grooming while operating the vehicle, a more compact and economical trail grooming device is needed.
As appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, and moreover by the average snowmobile operator, most snowmobiles are driven by a centrally located track which comes into contact with a ground surface (e.g., usually snow), over which the snowmobile travels. During operation of the snowmobile, and particularly upon commencing forward travel, the snow engaging portion of the track moves from the front of the snowmobile to the back of the snowmobile. The track lifts some of the snow it contacts and displaces or sprays it backwards to a back track location where the track looses contact with the snow covered surface upon initial forward movement. As a result of the snow displacement or spray effect, a pile of snow is usually deposited just behind the position where the back end of the snowmobile was located.
If this pile is left alone, it merely represents a mound of snow in the snowmobile path or trail. If this pile is traveled over by other snowmobiles it is compacted and eventually forms a mogul or the like. In either case, this pile of snow creates a disturbance in the snowmobile trail. Such a disturbance is sometimes desirable to provide a more challenging snowmobile ride. However, even just one of these disturbances can make operating a snowmobile difficult given the unlevel or uneven snow surface on the snow trail. Furthermore, when considering a popular snow trial, it is evident that over a period of time and with many snowmobiles traveling over the same trail, the snow mound and/or snow mogul effect will be multiplied and the difficulty to the snowmobile operator could become quite significant.
To a somewhat lesser degree, but still significant and particularly so depending on snow moisture conditions, during operation of the snowmobile over a snow trail, a snow spray is continuously propelled outward and upward from the back of the snowmobile, but not usually at a constant rate. The amount of snow spray depends on the speed of the snowmobile and the snow moisture conditions. Thus, in the ordinary course of operating the snowmobile, simply changing speeds can, regardless of moisture conditions, vary the amount of snow sprayed whereby any positive differential amount will cause a snow mound, and in due course over time a mogul or the like.
One way to deal with the snow mounds, snow moguls and the like is to remove them well after they have formed, i.e., with equipment that is proposed by some prior art devices. Such an approach is commendable, however, it can ignore the bigger part of the problem, namely, the creation of snow mounds, snow moguls and the like in the first place. Furthermore, with some prior art devices, although they remove the snow mounds, moguls and the like, solving one problem, such action often creates another problem. Over a short period of time, employing merely a device or method that removes the trail disturbance well after its formation tends to form a snow trail rut where the prior art device has scraped over the snow trail and pushed the loose snow off or out of the sides of the device. As is obvious in geographic locations where there is not a steady supply of new snow or a substantial snow base, such a scrapping action significantly displacing the snow trail snow would destroy a snowmobile trail in a short period of time.
Accordingly, a more compact and economical trail grooming accessory, which can be directly attached to a snowmobile, is needed. Further, such a device will desirably include the features of enabling trail grooming while operating the snowmobile, in order to prevent the initial formation of snow mounds, moguls and the like, and with minimal disturbance to the natural snow covered condition of the snow trail.